Proofreading Jobs Online: Beginner’s Guide

Proofreading jobs online are a flexible way to supplement your income. Some people are so good at what they do, they can even turn proofreading into a full-time career.

But if you’ve never actually worked as a proofreader before, it can be difficult to know how and where to get started. And you probably have a lot of questions like, “Do I need a degree or formal training?”

To help you decide whether or not proofreading is right for you (and if you have what it takes to be successful!) read on. This proofreading jobs online guide is meant to help complete beginners jump start their proofreading career the right way.

If you’re ready to jump right in and start learning the ropes of proofreading from the pros, be sure to check out a free 45-minute workshop that’ll show you how to put your proofreading skills to work — including what it takes to be successful!

Looking for specific proofreading jobs online? You need to check out Proofreading Pro. In this e-course, Phon shows you how to work specifically with entrepreneurs, writers, and content creators as a proofreader. She also shows you the steps she took to break into the competitive publishing industry (and how you can too!).

What Exactly is Proofreading?

Many people confuse the terms proofreading and editing. I always like to think of editing as more “big picture” stuff. When editing, you look to make sure content has good flow, conveys the right meaning, and generally reads well. Editing is usually a much more involved process than proofreading.

Proofreading is more narrowly focused than editing. When proofreading you want to go over a piece of content with a fine-tooth comb. The main purpose of proofreading is to make sure there are no spelling, grammatical or typographical errors.

When proofreading, you probably won’t make suggestions to change the overall flow or structure of content — your main goal is making sure it is error-free.

Wait. Isn’t that what spell-checker is for?

Too many people rely on spell-checkers and grammar-checkers built into word processing programs like Word. And while these are definitely helpful to give a final once over, they should not be relied on. Why? They’re far from perfect.

Check out the screenshot of some sentences I typed up in Word:

Can you spot the errors? Microsoft Word couldn’t. That’s why you shouldn’t trust it entirely to proofread for you. And that’s also why people turn to proofreaders to give their writing a thorough and final review to avoid embarrassing mistakes like the ones above.

Do I need an English degree to apply for proofreading jobs online?

The short answer? No. Just because you have a degree in English doesn’t necessarily mean you’d make an amazing proofreader just as not having an English degree doesn’t automatically make you a terrible proofreader. What you do need to have is the willingness to learn.

If you don’t have experience as a proofreader, there will definitely be a learning curve. You’ll need to develop your skills and eventually market yourself as a proofreader in order to grow your career. To do this well, you’ll have to constantly be learning, evolving, and growing.

I think I’ve got what it takes. What else should I have?

Generally speaking, proofreaders are detail-oriented people. If you routinely spot errors when reading blog posts, articles, pamphlets, magazines, ads or just about any copy — you’re definitely a detail-oriented person! To be successful as a proofreader, you should also have a strong command of English including grammar, spelling, and syntax.

Depending on the job, you may have to know proofreaders’ marks. These traditional signs and symbols are used when proofreading a document to indicate what kinds of changes should be made. Other clients may ask that you track changes in Word so they can see the edits you suggest.

Narrow the playing field

After you’ve read up on what it takes to be a proofreader and brushed up on your skills, you’re probably ready to start applying to all the proofreading jobs online you can find. And while it may sound like a good strategy to go after anything and everything, the truth is, it can actually backfire.

As a freelance writer, I always recommend that new writers find their niche. Why? It’s much easier to find work when you’re targeting a certain “tribe.” This theory holds true for freelance proofreaders too.

While I primarily make a living as a freelance writer, I take on quite a few proofreading gigs for select clients. What’s my niche? Case briefs, memorandums, and other legal documents like demand letters and lease agreements. Because I focus my work on a select group of clients, I can more easily market my services to them because I know exactly who my clients are — lawyers, law offices, and corporate legal departments.

Aside from making it easier to find proofreading jobs online, picking a niche allows you to easily position yourself as an expert. And once you reach expert status, you can charge much more for your services than if you generalized as a proofreader. I can’t stress enough how picking a niche can help you stay focused and catapult you to proofreading success early on.

I highly recommend checking out the e-course, Proofreading Pro. Phon shows you how to target a specific niche — entrepreneurs, publishers, content creators — as a new proofreader (and how she broke into the industry!).

Which niche should I choose?

I’ve got a good friend who has a marketing background. She does a lot of proofreading for ecommerce sites. Mostly she checks to make sure that product descriptions and user guides are error-free before they go live on the client’s website. After all, a turtleneck sweater and a turtle neck sweater are two very different things 🙂

If a niche isn’t jumping out at you right away, here’s some ideas for inspiration:

E-books

White papers

Transcripts

Academic papers

Resumes

Marketing materials

Contracts

Press releases

This of course is just a small sample of potential niches. To start, pick a subject you’re comfortable with. You might find that you eventually fall into a certain niche that you didn’t intend to target in the first place! Remember, you can always expand into different niches later. But when first starting out, try to stick with one and grow from there.

Where can I find proofreading jobs online?

If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably ready to learn where exactly all the proofreading jobs online are. The truth is, they’re everywhere. Seriously. Just about every website and blog can benefit from the eyes of a proofreader. I can attest to this as a freelance writer myself.

Our minds have a funny way of tricking us into thinking that what we’ve just written reads as we intend it to be read. When you’re so close to something you’ve written, you tend to overlook mistakes that are glaringly obvious to a fresh set of eyes.

That’s why when I write an e-book,white paper or other large piece of content for a client, I always hire a proofreader to give a final look. I factor in the cost of hiring a proofreader into my fees as a writer. The cost is well worth the result — an error-free final product that looks perfectly polished to the client.

Upwork

Upwork is now the largest freelance marketplace. If you’re wanting to try your hand at freelance proofreading, this is a great platform to start. How does Upwork work?

Clients post their proofreading gigs

Freelancers, like you, submit proposals

The client reads through proposals and selects the freelancer(s) they’d like to work with

It’s free to submit proposals, but Upwork does take a 10% cut of any payments you receive — so keep this in mind! The best way to find proofreading jobs online on Upwork is to completely fill out your profile and submit proposals that stand out.

Some best practices to keep in mind when submitting proposals include:

Tell the client what you can do for them first and foremost

Talk about your skills and expertise second

Close with a call to action (contact me, hire me, etc.)

If you want to target proofreading jobs on Upwork, it’s also a good idea to take the U.S. English Proofreading Skills Test (Chicago). Upwork provides this for free, and you can display your results directly on your profile. Taking the test and placing your score on your profile gives you more credibility as a professional proofreader.

Often, clients on Upwork will ask you what tests you’ve taken on the site that relate well to the job. Taking this test will make you stand out as the skilled proofreader they need.

Before you take the test, you’ll see that it tells you the test’s contents in the box to the right. This particular test is based on The Chicago Manual of Style. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with this guide before taking the test. This popular guide is really quite comprehensive and covers everything from formatting book titles to handling punctuation in a bulleted list. You can reference it while taking the test, but you’ll also want to feel relatively comfortable with it prior to starting.

If you don’t do so well, don’t panic! You can “hide” the test results from your public profile. And, after studying up, can retake it again after 30 days.

Job Boards

From time to time, I come across proofreading jobs posted on niche job boards like ProBlogger. It’s a good idea to check ProBlogger at least a couple of times a week. Often, jobs are filled quickly because of the number of applicants each listing receives!

Try searching for “proofreader” in the “what” box above and put “remote” in the “where” box. This will usually return a number of remote proofreading jobs online. When applying to job listings, remember to tailor your resume to each listing! And always do your due diligence before applying to a job and disclosing personal information — if something looks suspicious or sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Proofreading and Editing Companies

There are several online companies that regularly contract with proofreaders and editors. You may have to go through a number of online tests before you’re invited to contract with them. Keep in mind, these companies usually offer varying workloads — so it’s not a good idea to count on them as a steady paycheck each month.

Some of the popular companies offering proofreading jobs online include:

Go Solo

If you’re interested in proofreading jobs online but don’t think freelance marketplaces or proofreading sites are the right fit for you, consider launching your own freelance proofreading business.

Starting any freelance service business takes work. But if you keep at it and market yourself effectively, you can find success. As with any freelance service offering, it’s a good idea to launch your own website or blog. This acts as your online business card and makes it much easier to market yourself to clients. Plus, it serves as a good place for clients to easily get in touch with you, view your work, and learn about your services.

When you choose to launch your own proofreading business, you’ll be completely in charge. This means you get to work as much or little as you’d like, choose which projects you work on, and set your own rates.

Resources and Courses to Guide Your Proofreading Career Path

Head on over to Proofread Anywhere where you can learn what it takes to be a successful proofreader for court reporters. Keep in mind, this profession isn’t for everyone. But they do offer a free 7-day intro course that is specifically designed for newbies who want to start making money with their proofreading skills! It’s definitely worth checking out before diving in.

And don’t forget to sign up for the free General Proofreading webinar to learn what a successful proofreader does, how to elevate your skills to become a GREAT proofreader, and how to use one of the most popular proofreading tools out there. The information presented in the webinar is super important in helping you launch your own unstoppable career as a freelance proofreader.

For niche-specific guidance, i.e., how to work with entrepreneurs, publishers, and content creators, visit Proofreading Pro where Phon dishes out real world advice on breaking into the proofreading industry as a newbie.

Just for Fun

I think proofreading is a lot like freelance writing — you either got it or you don’t — your education and experience are second to how good you actually are at your craft.

Want to see if you’ve got it? See how many errors you can spot below:

Since the late 1980’s, John Smith has been one of the biggest popstars on are earth. His latest album brings his biggest hits altogether for the first time in more then thirty years. To go along with the albums release, John Smith announced a number of concert dates which will start early next month in Mineapolis. Many of his fan’s are all ready camped out to make sure their the first ones to get tickets of all there friend’s.

How many errors did you see? Let’s discuss your findings in the comments below!

Reader Interactions

Comments

I reassessed my answer to 11:
1980’s to 1980s
are to our
altogether to all together
then to than
albums to album’s
Mineapolis to Minneapolis
fan’s to fans
all ready to already
their to they’re
there to their
friend’s to friends

1. 1980’s to 1980s
2. popstars to pop stars
3. are earth to our earth
4. altogether to all together
5. then thirty years to than thirty years
6. albums release to album’s release
7. Mineapolis to Minneapolis
8. his fan’s to his fans
9. all ready to already
10. their to they’re
11. of to for
12. there to their
13. friend’s to friends

Also, conservatively, “thirty years” is fine. However, with contemporary writing, “30 years” would be the preferred method (only numbers under 10 being spelled out).

Since the late 1980’s, John Smith has been one of the biggest popstars on are earth. His latest album brings his biggest hits altogether for the first time in more then thirty years. To go along with the albums release, John Smith announced a number of concert dates which will start early next month in Mineapolis. Many of his fan’s are all ready camped out to make sure their the first ones to get tickets of all there friend’s.

Since the late 1980s, John Smith had been one of the biggest pop star on our Earth. His latest album brought his biggest hits all together for the first time in more than 30 years. To go along with the album’s release, John Smith announced a number of concert dates which will start early next month in Minneapolis. Many of his fans are already camped out to make sure they’re the first ones to get tickets for all their friends.

14 or 16 errors in my opinion. Give or take earth as lower or capitalize and the number thirty years as 30 years.

Since the late 1980’s, John Smith has been one of the biggest popstars on are earth. His latest album brings his biggest hits altogether for the first time in more then thirty years. To go along with the albums release, John Smith announced a number of concert dates which will start early next month in Mineapolis. Many of his fan’s are all ready camped out to make sure their the first ones to get tickets of all there friend’s.

1. 1980’s to 1980s
2. are to our
3. earth to Earth
4. altogether to all together
5. then to than
6. albums to album’s
7. Mineapolis to Minneapolis
8. fan’s to fans
9. all ready to already
10. their to they’re
11. there to their
12. friend’s to friends

adding to my previous list is:
13. popstars to pop stars
14. to get tickets OF all their friends to either: to get tickets OUT OF all their friends. (Being competitive) or to get tickets FOR all their friends.

Since the late 1980’s, John Smith has been one of the biggest popstars on are earth. His latest album brings his biggest hits altogether for the first time in more then thirty years. To go along with the albums release, John Smith announced a number of concert dates which will start early next month in Mineapolis. Many of his fan’s are all ready camped out to make sure their the first ones to get tickets of all there friend’s.

I found 12 errors.

1. popstars should be pop stars
2. on are earth should be on earth (delete are)
3. altogether should be all together
4. then should be than
5. albums should be album’s
6. Mineapolis should be Minneapolis
7. fan’s should be fans
8. all ready should be already
9. their should be they’re
10. there should be their
11. friend’s should be friends
12. The last sentence should be rearranged to read: Many of his fans are already camped out to make
sure they’re the first ones of their friends to get tickets.

Since the late 1980s, John Smith has been one of the biggest pop stars on earth. His latest album brings his biggest hits together for the first time in more than thirty years. Along with the album’s release, Smith announced a number of concert dates which will start early next month in Minneapolis. Many of his fans are already camped out to make sure they’re the first of their friends to get tickets.

Since the late 1980’s, John Smith has been one of the biggest pop stars on earth. His latest album brings his biggest hits together for the first time in more than thirty years. To go along with the album’s release, John Smith announced a number of concert dates which will start early next month in Minneapolis. Many of his fans are already camped out to make sure they are the first ones to get tickets of all their friends.

Since the late 1980’(1)s,(2) John Smith has been one of the biggest pop(3)stars on are(4) e(5)arth. His latest album brings his biggest hits al(6)together for the first time in more then(7) thirty(8) years. To go along with the album(9)s release, John Smith announced a number of concert dates(10) which will start early next month in Min(11)eapolis. Many of his fan’(12)s are all(13) ready camped out to make sure their(14) the first ones to get tickets of(15) all there(16) friend’(17)s.

I think the comma at #2 should be removed and one should be added at #10, because the clause before #2 is essential to the meaning of the sentence, but the information after #10 isn’t (if it is, then “which” should be replaced with “that”).

I admit that I was getting mixed up on “which” and “that” and had to look it up (I thought a “that” was needed). I had to look up the commas, too. My inclination was that at least one of them wasn’t needed, but I was unsure. I’m sure I’m still not using all the proper grammar terminology!

I agree with most of the changes suggested above, except for the problem in the final subordinate clause in the last sentence of the paragraph. To me, the problem isn’t that the writer chose the wrong preposition (“of” instead of “for”); rather the placement of the prepositional phrase is unclear. I would edit the sentence this way:

Many of his fans are already camped out to make sure they’re the first of all their friends to get tickets.

I counted 15 errors. These include the commas in the first and third sentences which I do not think are necessary. I would rephrase the last sentence to read: . . . camped out to make sure they are the first ones of all their friends to get tickets. Thanks for this interesting and fun exercise.

Thank you for this blog.
As a “new” proofreader I found it extremely informative.
I live in Johannesburg, South Africa.
I think that many people around the world think that one finds lions roaming the streets here and that all South Africans are illiterate! I can assure you that our streets have too many cars but no lions (!) and we have produced many world-renowned academics, doctors etc.

Since the late 1980’s, John Smith has been one of the biggest popstars popstars on are earth. His latest album brings all his biggest hits altogether for the first time in more then than thirty years. To go along with accompany the albums album’s release, John Smith announced a number of concert dates which will start early starting early next month in MineapolisMinneapolis. Many of his fan’s are all ready camped out to make sure their they’re among the first ones to get tickets. of all there friend’s.

Thank you very much, Ashlee. Like the gentleman who responded earlier, I am also retired and looking to supplement my retirement income by proofreading and editing. Thank you for providing a helpful place to start.

1. 1980s
2. pop stars
3. our earth
4. all together
5. than
6. 30
7. album’s
8. a number of (gr) > several
9. Minneapolis
10. fans
11. already
12. they are
13. their
14. friends
15. the first of all their friends to get tickets (gr)

Ashley, thank you for your excellent recommendations on getting started in the online proofreading world. Your blog is exceptionally helpful and you’ve inspired me to expand my own adventures in proofreading, writing and editing. Cheers!

If one includes awkward phrasing, I counted at least 13 errors. This is the way I would have written it:

Since the late 1980s, John Smith has been one of the biggest pop stars on earth. His latest album brings his biggest hits all together for the first time in more than thirty years. To accompany the album’s release, Smith announced a number of concert dates beginning early next month in Minneapolis. Many of his fans are already camped out to ensure they’re among the first of their friends to get tickets.

I am looking for freelance proofreader work. There is a company that wants you to be proficient in AP, APA, Chicago, MLA and CSE styles. It would cost over $100 to purchase online subscriptions or print copies of the latest editions of those guides–with no guarantee that you’ll be hired.
Do these companies usually do a screening test on all of the style guides they want you to have under your belt? I know you can’t answer for all of them. I’d just like to get a general idea. Thanks!

Thanks for stopping by. I would say that proofreading companies that require familiarity with a certain style will test you in some way to determine whether or not you are well versed in APA, Chicago, MLA, etc. These manuals are not cheap, as you already noted, but are often worth the cost to help you break into the world of freelance proofreading. Good luck!

Dear Ashlee:
Thanks for the article.
I have a journalism degree (UF), and “good eye,” but haven’t been a working editor/proofreader for 40 years! I went off in a totally different direction. But, I never lost the “bug!” Am I being unrealistic to hope for, let alone expect, any kind of success? I would love to do it as a part-time retirement income. If I set up a good website, would it get a response?

I found 13 errors. Also, a comment was left by a self described perfectionist who called the article “very redundant”. That’s similar to saying something is “very unique”
If it’s unique or redundant, “very” is superfluous. Reminds me of a pet peeve: “free gift” – if it’s a gift, it IS free!

I counted at least 10 errors. Also, about midway through your document I noticed that Phon’s name was misspelled. You have her name listed as Phone rather than Phon. Just something I noticed and thought I would share for fun.

I found 13 errors (14 if you follow a more contemporary style and use 30 rather than thirty).
>1980’s to 1980s
>on are earth to on our earth or on Earth
> altogether to together
>then to than
>albums to album’s
>Minneapolis
>fan’s to fans
>popstars to pop stars
>allready to already
>for their friends
>their to they’re

Why is y’all beetin’ up on ‘dis righter? The errors are their to make u’all do sum practise. I did find one though that none of you got…(nanny nanny poo poo):

“That’s why when I write an e-book,white paper…” No space after the comma…a grammar checker would have gotten that one…or my super anal retentive eyes…and I didn’t need to double check it somewhere else like you all did with most of your ‘finds’. So just pass your writing over to me and I’ll fix them for you for free.

Well, until I read through this: http://domainite.com/editing-sample/, I thought that I would be a pretty good proofreader with my eagle eye!
Obviously, the rabbit hole to this profession is deeper than I thought, and they are looking for way above average proofreaders, not just us newbies who are always finding spelling and grammatical mistakes in everything!
Not so simple….
I’m bit deflated now.
But thanks for your help to come to this finding!
To give up or to persist… hmmmmm….

Including paraphrasing there are 15 shortcomings to be replaced as thus:

1. 1980’s should be 80s
2. Popstars to pop stars
3. ‘Are’ should either be
disposed or be ‘our’
earth
4. ‘All together’ or just
‘together’
5. Then — than
6. Albums to album’s
7. ‘Which’ substituted with
‘that will start’ since it’s a
defining clause.
8. Mineapolis to
Minneapolis
9. Fan’s to fans
10. ‘All ready’ to already
11. Camped out shall be
better off camped-out
12. Their to they’re
13. There with their
14. Friend’s to be friends
15. In fact, the last line can
be comprehensibly
paraphrased as “….make sure they’re ahead of all their friends to get the tickets.”

I’ve submitted over a hundred proposals over the years to Upwork. Early on, I landed ONE contract, which ended up being twice the work I expected it to be and four times what the client thought it would be. Since then, I haven’t even landed an interview. And since the client didn’t give me a rating on the second job in the contract (my “handler” at the client company changed, and the client was suspended and reinstated from Upwork multiple times), I don’t have the 90% positive review rating–even tough 100% of my reviews are 5-star. And in complete bass-ackwards logic, Upwork sets people who are desperately trying to land jobs to PRIVATE, and only allows your profile to be PUBLIC if you’re already getting enough contracts and don’t need the extra exposure.

I’ve probably wasted over 100 hours on proposals that didn’t even get the dignity of a reply.

I am so glad to have read “Become a Proofreader Online for Beginners” for I learned a lot from it. I am so much interested in becoming a proofreader for it will allow me to earn anywhere I am, and it’s right for me for I intend to resume my course in Law.

I found 12 examples in the text that would be considered as grammatical inaccuracies, incorrect spellings and punctuation flaws. The final sentence doesn’t read well but it’s more an error of syntax, in my opinion.

I read on here that Upwork provides the U.S. English Proofreading Skills Test (Chicago) for free…. I am registered with the website, but I do not know how to find the test for free. Can someone tell me how to find it?

I found at least 13 errors in spelling and a few sections that should be rephrased. I’m interested in working as a freelance proofreader to supplement my part-time job at our local library. I get frustrated when I encounter many mistakes in local newspaper articles and in online resources. I’ve observed that most journalists and writers of these articles are not given adequate time to proofread their work. I would be happy to help with that.

Since the late 1980s, John Smith has been a global pop star. His latest album compiles his biggest hits for the first time in more than thirty years. In conjunction with the album’s release, John Smith announced his concert dates that start early next month in Minneapolis. Many of his fans are already camping out to make sure they’re the first ones who get tickets.

Since the late 1980’s, John Smith has been one of the biggest Pop Stars on Earth. His latest Album brings his biggest hits all together, for the first time, in more than 30 years. To go along with the Album’s release, John Smith announced a number of concert dates; which will start early next month in Minneapolis. Many of his fans are already camped out; to make sure they are the first ones, of all their friends, to get tickets.

1. Capital “P” in Pop
2. Capital “S” in Stars
3. Remove “are” from before Earth.
4. Capital “E” for Earth
5. Capital “A” for Album after latest
6. Change altogether to all together.
7. Change ” then” to ” than” before 30 years.
8. change thirty to 30.
9. Capital “A” for Album before release
10. Comma after release
11. Semicolon before which
12. Add second “n” to Minneapolis
13. No apostrophe for fans
14. Change all ready to already.
15. Semicolon between out and to
16. their should be they are
17. Remove apostrophe for friends.
18. Move ” to get tickets” to after friends.

Um, There should be a space after your comma in the section entitled Where to Find Proofreading Jobs Online; 3rd paragraph, first line. e-book, (insert space) whitepaper…….just sayin’…so, do I get a job recommendation? Thanks!

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